The Colossus of Kera Island
"……?"
Simon's eyes went wide. A guest lecturer? That was a first, wasn't it?
"Come in."
At Jane's gesture, a middle-aged man stepped up to the lectern. He wore a friendly, beaming face and a workman's jumpsuit absolutely covered in pockets.
"Allow me to introduce Edward Birkbeck, the hunter."
Jane said.
"His face may be unfamiliar to some of you, but he is a living legend of the industry—a top-tier treasure hunter with more than twenty ancient ruins to his name."
Applause and cheers erupted from every corner of the room. Dick, in particular, was hammering his desk in excitement.
"No way! What! This is actually happening? THE Edward, the treasure hunter? Professor Jane's recruitment game is on another level, seriously……"
"Is he that big a deal?"
When Meilin asked with a blank look, Dick whipped around in genuine shock.
"Hey! How do you not know who Edward is? This is straight-up a failure of basic education!"
"I'm asking who he is."
"Argh!"
Up at the lectern, Edward began with a nervous smile.
"Ah, um. Pleasure to meet you all. You'd be Kizen's first-years, yes?"
"Yes!"
The students answered in a loud chorus.
"Ah-haha! To think the day would come when I'd teach at Kizen! I suppose I really have made something of myself. You know, honestly, all my success I owe to my father. I was born in difficult circumstances, but……"
Ahem.
Jane, arms crossed behind him, coughed quietly. Edward shivered minutely and snapped his back straight.
"Ah—yes! Enough rambling, let's get right into it! I pride myself on having never set foot in a corner of the Dark Alliance's territory I haven't explored. Ah, to be precise, I've traveled every inch of the continent. Even snuck into Holy Federation land here and there, so……"
"Hunter Edward."
"Oh! Ah! My apologies, Vice Principal! Hahaha! To put it simply, I'm a survival expert. I don't wield powerful dark magic the way you all do, but the weak have their own way of staying alive. Thorough preparation! Now then, now then."
Still fumbling over his words, Edward pulled the materials he'd brought from his bag and pinned them to the blackboard. Charts and illustrations laid out the species of monsters and vegetation found on the island. TAs circulated through the room, handing out copies to the students.
"The place where you'll be taking your exam is called Kera Island."
Edward said, looking around at the students.
"It's a restricted zone barred by Kizen, but besides Kera itself, there are a number of larger and smaller islands nearby. I've visited every one of them, and from that I've been able to estimate the vegetation and the monsters likely to appear on Kera."
He'd been a bundle of nerves upon arriving at Kizen and had spent the whole time watching Jane's face behind him, but the moment the lecture turned to his own field, Edward became remarkably professional.
Edible plants on Kera Island and plants that would kill you. Monsters you could eat and monsters that would eat you—and exactly which parts were safe, and how they needed to be cooked. Weather and climate, terrain to avoid, the tides, behaviors that drew a monster's attention, how to drive off a wild snake.
He was so gripping that even the aristocratic students, who'd been slouching in their seats wondering why anyone had bothered to invite this man, were leaning forward in rapt attention within moments. It made sense—they'd be putting this survival knowledge to very good use in two days' time.
The students scribbled furiously, quills flying across their notes.
"Nep! And that concludes my presentation. Thank you so much for listening! Any questions?"
Hands shot up from all directions. As Edward answered them one by one, Simon paged through his copy of the handout.
Hm?
Among the various monsters that inhabited the island, one specimen stood out as distinctly odd. He couldn't say why, but his eyes kept drifting back to it.
It was a monster with its face wrapped in what looked like bandages.
Just as Simon was staring hard at it, Pier's avatar twitched into motion.
[I say, boy……!]
Oh, Pier. When did you get here?
Pier's avatar's eyes flew wide open.
[That picture! Hold it up close before my eyes this instant!]
Simon held the photograph up to his chest so Pier could see it clearly. The pupils of Pier's avatar were shaking like mad.
[Impossible. It cannot be! Why is this creature THERE?]
"Do you know who it is?"
[Know him? Of course I know him! He is an Ancient Undead who once commanded a division of the Legion!]
Simon's eyes went wide. A commander of his father's Legion, here?
[Kheheheh. To think I would gaze upon that face again.]
Pier's avatar murmured in a grave voice.
[Boy! You remember the sin of the Legion, do you not?]
Yes. On your father's orders—to protect your mother, you betrayed the Dark Alliance and fought against the necromancers……
[Just so. As the Legion withdrew under the Alliance's massive offensive after a long and bitter campaign, there was one who threw his entire body into stemming that tide and bought us our escape to the sea.]
Don't tell me that's……
Simon's eyes returned to the eyes of the bandage-wrapped monster.
[This creature's name is Big Kroom.]
Pier's gaze grew solemn.
[Commander of the Legion's giant corps.]
Simon listened as Pier laid out the full account. An Ancient Undead who had willingly accepted his own dissolution and sacrificed himself for the Legion. Unusually for an undead, he had been profoundly devoted and loyal to it.
[I was certain he had died that day. To think he lived—and on an island owned by Kizen, no less.]
……
Simon stroked his chin, lost in thought. Something was definitely strange. His father's undead, on the very island where his performance evaluation would take place? The timing was far too convenient.
And yet the bait was far too big a hook to simply ignore.
[The connection is not nothing! Push inland from that Kera Island and you reach the port city of Ballott. That is where Big Kroom vanished—the battle there.]
That tracks. Since he's my father's undead, I'd like to claim him for myself. Think that's all right?
[Kheheheh! Naturally! He is a vital asset. Once he is in your hands, he will be a great source of strength to you.]
Good. Nothing ventured, nothing gained—let's make contact.
On top of surviving the island evaluation like an ordinary student, Simon now had a second objective. A mission that might matter even more than a good grade.
[But know this—so much time has passed that his temperament may have warped, or his heart may have changed.]
Simon nodded. Erzsébet hadn't been cooperative with the Legion at first, either.
[So take me along! I shall persuade him myself.]
Hmm.
Simon flipped through the guidebook with a troubled expression.
It says here that right before the teleport, they inspect every student's subspace? Unnecessary items and food are all banned outright, so……
[A subspace inspection? That complicates things.]
I'll come up with a plan. Tonight I'll stop by the ruins and talk it over with Erze.
Just then, the bell rang to end the class. Jane clapped her hands and stepped back up to the lectern.
"That's all for today. I expect you to spend the next two days preparing thoroughly. Familiarize yourselves with the detailed rules and the operation of your Tongue Pads in advance as well. Dismissed."
"Thank you for your hard work!"
The students flooded out of the lecture hall like a receding tide. Dick and a few others lingered, clearly hoping to chat with Edward and snag an autograph, but one look from Jane sent them scurrying with their tails between their legs.
"Simon, what are you doing? Let's go grab some food."
Simon answered Dick with a smile.
"Sorry, but would you mind if I ate with Meilin's group today? I've got some, uh, personal business to take care of."
"?"
"Three minutes and twenty-one seconds remaining on your meal time."
Edward had decided that of everything he'd ever faced—every monster, every trap—this woman, the Vice Principal of Kizen, frightened him the most.
Having force-fed himself without tasting a single bite, Edward left the dining hall and was walking toward the teleportation circle under Jane's escort. Though "escort" was a generous word; it was closer to being marched off under guard.
"V-Vice Principal, ma'am."
Edward forced out a strained smile. He'd resolved to at least try saying something. Surely merely opening his mouth wouldn't be enough to get himself turned into a skeleton.
"Five hours! No—just two hours, that's all I ask! I'm a professional treasure hunter, and I've finally set foot on the mystic Roc Island itself. I can't simply turn around and leave like this……!"
Jane checked her wristwatch with a blank face.
"No one may enter Roc Island without official entry authorization from Kizen. Hunter Edward, your authorization expires in six minutes and twenty-three seconds."
Cold sweat poured down Edward's back. How could anyone be this inflexible……! But he couldn't give up now!
"Th-then couldn't you simply extend my authorization a little? Ah—Professor Bahil, was it? He did ask me earlier to give a lecture to Class B as well……"
In that instant.
Sparks flew in Jane's eyes. Edward realized he'd put his foot in it and clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was far too late. Jane beckoned over the TA trailing behind them.
"Tell Professor Bahil to come to my research office. Now."
The TA snapped to attention, rigid.
"Wh-what business shall I say you're summoning him for……"
"Shut up and tell him that if he isn't sprinting here within ten minutes, I'm coming to get him myself."
At those words, the TA bolted off like a madman.
The corners of Edward's mouth were twitching uncontrollably.
Enough adventuring. He found himself thinking, sincerely, that he would give anything just to get off this island alive.
After another several minutes of walking, they arrived at the teleportation circle bound for the mainland.
"How is that possible?"
But the trouble wasn't over yet.
Upon hearing the report of the teleport administrator, who had approached with a pained expression, Jane began to rage like a storm. The administrator bowed again and again, like a man apologizing for some terrible crime.
"A flaw developed in the circle due to preparations for the Island Survival exam—and that is your excuse?"
"W-we will correct it immediately!"
"Have the entire teleport team assembled in my research office by six o'clock."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Jane let out a long sigh, then walked over to Edward. Eyes closed, she bowed her head.
"Due to internal maintenance issues, your return trip will be delayed by roughly ten minutes, Hunter. On behalf of Kizen, I offer my apologies."
"Ah, ahahaha…… I-I'm perfectly fine! Really, truly, no trouble at all!"
Are you kidding me? Someone gets held up ten minutes and they treat him like this? Is this just how their organizational culture works?
"I will inspect the circle personally. Hunter, you will wait here and not move a single step."
At her one sentence, Edward genuinely felt as though his whole body had been nailed to the floor.
So this is the legendary curse I'd only heard rumors about?
"Y-yes, ma'am! Take your time, ma'am! Haha!"
Jane went off to inspect the teleportation circle. Left alone at last, Edward let out a breath of relief. For some reason, the strength had drained from his legs, and he'd ended up crouching on the ground.
"Hello there!"
Someone had spoken to him. He turned his head to find a male student in a Kizen uniform smiling down at him.
"Oh! A student……!"
"I'm the Class A student who attended your lecture earlier. It was a really wonderful class."
Edward felt his self-esteem recover at record speed and sprang to his feet. Then, at astonishing speed, he produced a pen and paper from his clothes.
"Heh heh, wonderful. What was your name again?"
"I didn't come for an autograph—I came to ask you a question about today's lecture."
Edward's shoulders slumped and he lowered the pen.
Seriously, why is everyone at this school—professors and students alike—so stiff?
"This monster, from the materials in your handout."
Simon held out the photograph of Big Kroom as he continued.
"Is there anything at all you can tell me about it?"
Edward took the photograph. Then he went "Hmm—" and turned it this way and that, examining it.
"Ah, so there was a picture of this one too. We collected them in bulk, so I never got a chance to verify them individually."
Edward handed the photo back with a shake of his head.
"I took it because it seemed strange at the time, but I don't know what kind of monster it is either. I've been in this business thirty years, and I've never seen anything shaped like this."
"……What do you mean, it 'seemed strange'?"
Edward's eyes narrowed slyly.
"The fog was thick that day, so I can't say for certain what I actually saw—but suddenly, this monster was wandering the island at a colossal size. I hurried to pull out my mana camera, and by the time I did, it had shrunk back down."
Simon swallowed dryly.
"How big did it get?"
As if recalling that moment, Edward's face went stiff.
"Big enough to swallow the entire island."